Ireland

Welcome to the country of roundabouts

date of entry 24/08/2014

mileage 886,549

capital Dublin

area 70.182 km²

population 4,581,269

GDP 217,6 Bill. US-Dollar

official language English

Gunther Holtorf had wanted to visit Ireland much earlier, but because of his wife’s illness they had to break off their previous trip. This is why he only arrived there in the summer of 2014, shortly before the end of his long journey. Together with the friendliness of the Irish people, two things struck him about the country: roundabouts and hedges!

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Otto travelled to Dublin by ferry from the port of Holyhead in Wales.

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There is a great deal of coastal erosion at Hook Head in the south-east of Ireland. The site of the oldest Irish beacon is nearby. As early as the 13th century, monks lit a fire here to warn sailors about the rocks. The current lighthouse was built at the beginning of the 19th century.

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This farming landscape is typical of Ireland. The farmhouses are generally very well maintained and look attractive in their lush green setting.

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The famous cliffs of Moher in the west of Ireland are on the Atlantic coast.

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"Ireland is the country of thick hedges," said Gunther Holtorf. Sometimes they turn roads into gullies. But they also protect arable land, farmhouses and pastures from the wind.

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The small town of Shannon in the west of Ireland has fewer than 10,000 residents, but its airport, which dates back to the 1930s, was used as a stopover for civil aircraft crossing the North Atlantic from 1945 onwards. The propeller planes at that time had a shorter range and took the shortest route across the Atlantic with stopovers in Shannon and in Gander in Newfoundland.